Career choices eclectic for Charlo grads
Linda Sappington
Kyla Kirsch gets a congratulatory hug following Sunday's ceremony.
Linda Sappington
Kathleen Cox wears a corral and two horses atop her mortarboard as she prepares to study natural horsemanship at UM Western.
Linda Sappington
Graduates hand out roses to family members after receiving their diplomas.
Linda Sappington
Charlo graduate Berit DeGrandpre
Linda Sappington
Paraprofessional David Peck has worked with Dominic Shively since first grade, and will now retire.
Linda Sappington
Charlo High School graduated 25 students Saturday, including Dominic Shively, right, getting his tassel straightened by a classmate.
Linda Sappington
Dressed in white Vans, colorful socks and zany-printed sneakers atop his mortarboard, Dugan Runkel, upper right, says he’s headed to the Art Institute of Seattle to study industrial design.
Linda Sappington
One cap flies at the end of Charlo's graduation ceremony.
Linda Sappington
Uniquely-decorated mortarboards show graduates' personalities.
Linda Sappington
Charlo graduate Jaycee Andersen
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CHARLO — Although most of Charlo’s close-knit graduates have been in school together since first grade, their career choices vary as they head into the future.
Berit DeGrandpre will study economics and government with a minor in foreign policy on a 50-percent tuition scholarship at Dartmouth University. She’ll also be playing on their rugby team.
“It’s like the best sport ever invented,” she said, likening the contact sport to football, but without the pads. “You go all out, all the time.”
An Arlee friend encouraged Berit to join the Missoula-based Iron Vixens club team, so she drives there three times a week to practice. She’ll soon meet her future coach at an upcoming all-star game in Oregon.
DeGrandpre’s dad, Dave, a small business owner, peaked her interest in economics and a trip to the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire motivated her to learn about foreign policy.
Dressed in white Vans, colorful socks and zany-printed sneakers atop his mortarboard, Dugan Runkel said he’s headed to the Art Institute of Seattle to study industrial design. While in high school he built a skateboard, experimenting with the use of carbon fiber and different materials to see how strong he could make it.
Friends Kathleen Cox and Ashley Mock will each bring a horse with them to college. The future roommates will study natural horsemanship and business at the University of Montana Western in Dillon. Mock paraded her painted horse in Ronan’s St. Patricks Day Parade in March, and Cox loves horses so much she built a corral with two horses on her mortarboard, adding Winston Churchill’s quote, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
A guest speaker at an Academic Bowl sparked Alyssa Liddle’s interest in world issues, and a resulting trip to Thailand with the Department of State solidified her decision to study international relations with a minor in political science or history at Carroll College.
But what she’s learned during her past 12 school years is to look past a classmate’s disabilities and treat him the same as everybody else. She’s been in school with Dominic Shively, a student with cerebral palsy, since the first grade, she said.
So has paraprofessional David Peck.
“They’ve really accepted him and made him part of the group,” Peck said. Dominic was crowned homecoming king in the fall and prom king in the spring.
Peck has been Dominic’s paraprofessional since the family moved to Charlo when Dominic was in first grade.
“We’ve been together a long time,” Peck said. “We’ve gotten pretty close.”
Peck said he’s learned patience from Dominic. Now 67, Peck is retiring to stay home and farm.
At Sunday’s graduation, guest speaker and Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Shad Andersen gave a dozen tips to the graduates, including: Don’t drink and drive and always wear your seatbelt. Give back to the community and do it because you want to help not expecting anything in return. Stop talking so much.
“You can’t learn if you don’t take time to listen,” he said.
Before the Class of 2016 received their diplomas, an all-girl quintet sang lyrics that seemed to echo the sentiment of the 25 graduates: “Because I knew you, I have been changed for the better.”
2016 Charlo Graduates and Scholarships
Andersen, Jaycee
Parents: Shad and Tricia Andersen
Westland Seed
A.M.T. Scholarship
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Montana State University Premier Scholarship
Dearborn Ranch-Montana Highway Patrol Scholarship
Montana University System Honor Scholarship
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
Cox, Kathleen
Parents: Tate and Neoma Cox
Coulter Automotive
Mission Valley Power Award
George and Faye Harris Charitable Foundation Scholarship
Charlo Perpetual Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
DeGrandpre, Berit
Parents: Dave and Liberty DeGrandpre
Valley Bank
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Dartmouth College Scholarship
Delaney, Michael
Parents: Stan and Sheri Delaney
Rod’s Harvest Foods
Phyllis Stivers Memorial Scholarship
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative Scholarship
Charlyn M. Rogers Memorial Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Montana Tech Performance Based Scholarship
Montana Tech Athletic Football Scholarship
Marcus Daly Silver Tuition Waiver Scholarship
Clayton E. DeVoe Scholarship
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
Dotson, Caleb
Parents: Marcie McCrea; Darren Dotson
Doty, Brooke
Parents: Kenny Doty; Amber Krahn
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
University of Montana Resident Scholarship
Frame, Skyler
Parents: Boyd and Shelly Frame
Daughters of American Revolution Good Citizen Scholarship
Jones, Megan
Parents: Edwin Jones
University of Montana Resident Scholarship
Salish Kootenai College Scholarship
Kirsch, Kyla
Parents: Kevin Kirsch; Krista Kirsch
Ronan Les Schwab
Montana State University Premier Scholarship
Kelsey Rollins-Hanson Memorial Scholarship
James O. Atkinson Memorial Scholarship
Charlo Perpetual Scholarship
Charlyn M. Rogers Memorial Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Liddle, Alyssa
Parents: Tammy Young; Richard Liddle
Ronan Harvest Foods
Lake County 4-H Scholarship
Montana 4-H Foundation Scholarship
Youth Serve Montana Scholarship
Carroll College Opportunity Grant
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Carroll College Community Living Grant
Carroll College Borromeo Guild Grant
Murray Sterling Brooke Memorial Scholarship
Carroll College Halo Scholarship
Carroll College Presidential Scholarship
Mock, Ashley
Parents: Frank and Angela Mock
Ronan Eye Clinic
Lake County 4-H Scholarship
P.E.O. Scholarship
Grace Ritzman Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Montgomery, Gregory
Parents: Hoss and Stephanie Smith
Nitschke, Kristin
Parents: Brian and Diane Nitschke
Stuart’s NAPA Auto Care
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
Roquet, Lane
Parents: Greg and Joni Roquet
Zenith American Dream Scholarship
Roylance, Mikaylan
Parents: Amanda Gertds; Adrian Roylance
Don Aadsen Ford
Mission Valley Power Award
Rocky Mountain Twist/Jore Corporation Scholarship
St. Luke Community Healthcare Scholarship
Charlo Perpetual Scholarship
FUPS Basketball Brawl Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Rob Roylance Memorial Scholarship
Montana State University Premier Scholarship
Tracy Foundation Scholarship
Clayton E. DeVoe Scholarship
Governor’s Best and Brightest Scholarship
Runkel, Dugan
Parents: John and Samantha Runkel
Ronan Auto Parts
Ninepipe Arts Group Scholarship
Charlo Perpetual Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
Art Institute of Seattle Portfolio Scholarship
Savage, Madison
Parents: Scott and Kasey Savage
U of M Montana Academic Achievement Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Schippers, Hailey
Parents: John Schippers; Ms. Brenda
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Boise State University Western Undergraduate Exchange Award
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
Shively, Dominic
Parents: Fred and Tracy Dalke
Smith, Bridger
Parents: Steve and Jeriann Smith
Charlo Grocery
Poke the Bear with Brett Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Smith, Jade
Parents: Shawn and Sarah Smith
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Montana Tech Chancellor Scholarship
Stevens, Tristan
Parents: Jay and Rhonda Stevens
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
Stipe, Stetson
Parents: Marvin Stipe; Lisa Douma
Poke the Bear with Brett Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Wyo Tech Zenith American Dream Scholarship
Timms, McKensie
Parents: James A. Timms; Kaye Zellers
Charlo Lions Club Scholarship
Shamrock Services LLC
Rocky Mountain Twist/Jore Corporation Scholarship
University of Montana Resident Scholarship
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Montana Rail Link Scholarship
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
Tryon, Ashley
Parents: Paul and Amie Tryon
GEAR UP Achievement Grant
Montana State University Premier Scholarship
GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship
